Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.

Times and dates in your local timezone.

Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.

So how do you restart a PLOG that went on for years before being wiped out with a demise of a forum? I guess I will find out. I have decided to start with one of my smaller armies with some models and some vehicles still to paint.

So this army started back in 2001 when I was looking for work after the tech bubble burst and there suddenly was not a lot of demand for Oracle developers or other tech industry types. I was selling painted figures/units/armies on eBay to supplement my income and was doing quite well...knowing that my stock of armies would eventually run out I started looking for the which armies did the best price wise and noticed at since there were very few painted Sisters of Battle figures/units/armies for sale and those that did get put up tended to go for good prices. I also noticed that there were quite a number of Sisters for sale...I guess lots of gamers purchased a few with big plans and then after sitting gathering dust they decided to sell them. So I started placing minimal bids of groups of figures and every so often I would win that auction.

2003 came and I had found full time employment again and the Sisters I had collected to paint and sell started to gather dust as I no longer had any real interest in selling any more. That same year the Witch Hunter Codex came out and I decided I would paint the army for myself. Being a Guard player I built the army as you would expect a Guardsmen to do with large units of infantry and some Exorcists to back them up. It was about that time that I basically stopped winning any eBay auctions for Sisters on minimal bids as a lot of other players got interested...but I had more than enough...if a somewhat eclectic collection. I think it was 2005 before I won another auction...but by now it had become a point of pride to see how cheaply I could build a Sister's army of metal figures. In fact 2005-2006 was about the time many who had jumped into Sisters started selling those models to finance a new army or project and I started picking up things like Repentia and some newer models with my minimum bid shot gun approach.

I did have an old style Immolator and two converted Exorcists using the Mark I Rhino Chassis...it was at this point I decided I would stick with that style and expanded my eBay purchases to look for those models and old Sisters as other players migrated to the newer models like the Mark II Rhino based Immolator, Canoness or Seraphim Sister Superior.

The army around 2008:

The army in 2012:

The army completed in 2017:

The one thing that building a Sister's Army on the cheap is that the types of models was limited and I ended up with more than my fair share of Storm Bolters, Seraphim and regular Bolter armed Sisters...with the models appearing to disappear from GW's shelves I broke down and purchased 15 Special and Heavy Weapons and a few Sister Superiors...these models cost me more than the entire rest of the army. I also purchased a pair of Mark I Immolators from a gentleman in the Netherlands and I think these additions will make the army more effective in 7th Edition MSU tactics...although the army I have now was a respectable 50% in the 11 years it has taken the field.

The long painting war continues,

CB

This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2018/12/19 17:43:09

Always nice to see more sisters of battle love, your force looks amazing. Sorry to hear about your old site going down but I hope you find it nice and cozy here. Those Excorsist tanks look amazing, I like those much more than the original GW model.

My little force pales next to yours, but it's good to see another Sisters player who uses the old Mk1 Rhino chassis. They're hard to find now, trying to pick up Immolators for less than £25 is difficult.

Splagbot wrote:Question: Are those Rhino's Forge World jobbies or are they original casts from when the Rhino was released back in the day?

Just to answer for Cap'n Brown, those Rhinos are, I think, the old plastic and metal Immolator kits with the Immolator turrets removed to make Sisters of Battle Rhinos. That said I can't remember if, back in 2nd Edition, there was a Sisters Rhino kit released... either way it's definitely the old Mk 1 Rhino.

Thanks for the comments on the Living Saint Gen.Steiner and Cap'n Facebeard

Splagbot wrote:I always enjoyed your plogs over on Warseer, I look forward to following you over here on Dakka.
Question: Are those Rhino's Forge World jobbies or are they original casts from when the Rhino was released back in the day?

Thanks Splagbot, the Rhinos are the original GW Mark I kit with Sisters of Battle doors, spare tracks and front armour. I got the first two off eBay from someone else who obviously had the original idea of creating Sisters of Battle Rhinos and then figured out a way to make more parts to add to regular Rhinos. One Rhino I obtained off eBay for $0.99 because it was in such bad condition and missing parts, but my replacements made it back into a paintable Rhino. One other Rhino began its days as a Predator and when I got my hands on it was missing the turret and side sponsons, although you can still see the original back plate.

Gen.Steiner wrote:Just to answer for Cap'n Brown, those Rhinos are, I think, the old plastic and metal Immolator kits with the Immolator turrets removed to make Sisters of Battle Rhinos. That said I can't remember if, back in 2nd Edition, there was a Sisters Rhino kit released... either way it's definitely the old Mk 1 Rhino.
The Exorcists are a mix of Immolator and Whirlwind I think!

Entirely correct, only addition is that the Exorcists have the old Mark I Rhino Upgrade Armour to give them the feel of the heavier, better armoured tank chassis.
And now the second HQ selection from the Force Chart:
The Canoness
The Canoness and Command Squad in a couple of variations.

Now I also had a Uriah Jacobus model, but I traded him for additional Sisters, in fact I often traded Sisters for Sisters parts as I found most players seemed to want the helmeted heads and were willing to trade more to get those models. The two Multi-Melta sisters are actually Heavy Flamer bodies someone traded to me for the helmeted models and they threw in some additional models as part of the deal. Now I know someone is going to say, how could you trade Uria? The reason I had played Sisters with two large squads for so long I just got bored with it and the newer Priest rules had not come out making for a pretty good tar pit unit. Besides I ended up with a ton of Sisters models in trade. To tell the truth I had traded/sold two Uriah models as one of my gaming buddies had me sell his as well…that is likely sacrilege in some Sister player’s minds.

The long painting war continues…

CB

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/05/25 23:48:22

The red on your fabrics looks really vibrant, I love it. Are you still adding to your army or is this a completed project?

This is making me think I should post up my own sisters project, I've stalled a bit lately because painting skin and vehicles has been a bit annoying and I haven't had a chance to put them on a table for a bit.

Thank you Gen.Steiner and Cap'n Facebeard, I will keep working through the Org Chart.

emptyhat wrote:The red on your fabrics looks really vibrant, I love it. Are you still adding to your army or is this a completed project?
This is making me think I should post up my own sisters project, I've stalled a bit lately because painting skin and vehicles has been a bit annoying and I haven't had a chance to put them on a table for a bit.

Thanks emptyhat,

Still need to paint two more tanks, 16 Sisters and a flyer...yes I caved and got a Forgeworld Avenger to try and deal with flyers …and yes, like the 15 Sisters from GW the cost of the Avenger is more than the cost of the rest of the army collected over years.

Never too late to start.

Now the first Troop Choice, not a big surprise as there is only one option in the Sister’s Codex.

Sisters of Battle Squad One:
And their dedicated transport the Rhino Sepulchra

Now the squad does not have the most powerful special weapons selections…and the reason I finally broke down and purchased the new Special Weapons to replace the Storm Bolter. But the squad does have all five of the variants of the helmetless Sisters with Bolters for variety.

The long painting war continues,

CB

PS: Added second angle shot of Mark I Rhino

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2017/09/02 20:31:45

MacPhail wrote:Woohoo, another Sisters P&M blog, and a great looking army to boot! I'll be watching this one for sure. Love the classic Rhinos!

Thank you MacPhail, I have seen your excellent posts over on the New Sisters of Battle Codex Tactica thread and always look forward to your battle reports. Your tactica for Sisters was always much larger and far more active than the ones on WarSeer and was my main reason to visit.

evildrcheese wrote:Awesome. Always good to see a well painted Battle Sister Army.
It's cool that you only have the old rhinos, I have one for my Battle Sisters but never field it because it's tiny compared to the new chassis!
EDC

Thank you evildrcheese, I have just used the old Rhinos for everything and now I am thinking of how to convert a Rhino Mark I to a Repressor.

Gen.Steiner wrote:Is it the proper old one with the fleur de lys doors and the tank tracks on the front with the built up driver's compartment? If so... I'll buy it off you!
Lovely Sisters as per usual, Cap'n. Can't wait to see what you do with the Imperial Navy air support!

Getting deals scooped by Gen.Steiner on my own thread. No worries General, thank you for the kind words.

Now the next Troop Choice selection, the second Sisters Squad:

This time I used an old Canoness model as a Sister Superior with a Compi-Weapon (legacy of very few Sister Superior models in my trading and collection) and the squad does have all five of the variants of the helmetless Sisters with Bolters for variety. On the tactics front this squad also has the less than optimal Storm Bolter and Flamer combination.

And the Sister Squad’s ride the Rhino “Gloria”:

The long painting war continues,

CB

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/09/02 20:34:38

Very nice closeups, those sister squads look fantastic. I've never been a fan of the older rhinos but here I kinda like them, they fit nicely. I think one reason I may not like the older ones is because every time I've seen them they've always been a lone old rhino in an army full of the newer ones so they look totally out of place. Great work, keep it up.

Inevitable_Faith wrote:Very nice close ups, those sister squads look fantastic. I've never been a fan of the older rhinos but here I kinda like them, they fit nicely. I think one reason I may not like the older ones is because every time I've seen them they've always been a lone old rhino in an army full of the newer ones so they look totally out of place. Great work, keep it up.

Inevitable_Faith, only old Mark I Rhinos here, event my Exorcists are based on the Mark I chassis.

Gen.Steiner wrote:Out of interest, what's wrong with the storm bolters? I have a squad with three in (two Sisters with storm bolters, and one carried by the Superior). Lotsa dakka!

Thanks Gen.Steiner, the Storm Bolter is really only an extra shot at long range over a regular Bolter…so not really a special weapon of substance.

Dysartes wrote:The force is looking good so far, Captain.
No plans for a unit of Frateris Militia?

Thanks Dysartes, all in good time, I started the army on the old codex when units like that were added in White Dwarf magazine…so I did do a unit.

Now the third Troop Choice, the third Sisters of Battle Squad (when an army has only one troop choice type there is little drama in the announcement):

Again an old Canoness model as a Sister Superior with a Compi-Weapon and the squad does have all five of the variants of the helmetless Sisters with Bolters for variety. This squad is more traditionally armed with a Melta Gun and Flamer combination.

Their Rhino Transport the “Honorum”:

The long painting war continues…

CB

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/09/02 20:35:36

MacPhail wrote:Woohoo, another Sisters P&M blog, and a great looking army to boot! I'll be watching this one for sure. Love the classic Rhinos!

Thank you MacPhail, I have seen your excellent posts over on the New Sisters of Battle Codex Tactica thread and always look forward to your battle reports. Your tactica for Sisters was always much larger and far more active than the ones on WarSeer and was my main reason to visit.

Wow, thanks! I'm glad someone finds them worth the effort. Let me know if you're on the hunt for more old school Rhinos, I'll have a couple to sell once I build their replacements.

MacPhail wrote:Woohoo, another Sisters P&M blog, and a great looking army to boot! I'll be watching this one for sure. Love the classic Rhinos!

Thank you MacPhail, I have seen your excellent posts over on the New Sisters of Battle Codex Tactica thread and always look forward to your battle reports. Your tactica for Sisters was always much larger and far more active than the ones on WarSeer and was my main reason to visit.

Wow, thanks! I'm glad someone finds them worth the effort. Let me know if you're on the hunt for more old school Rhinos, I'll have a couple to sell once I build their replacements.